Judge shot at Ohio courthouse, flown to Pittsburgh hospital

WPXI ^ | August 21, 2017

[rightwingintelligentsia]

STEUBENVILLE, Ohio (AP) — Ohio officials say a county judge was shot and wounded as he walked toward a courthouse, and the suspect was killed when a probation officer returned fire.

Jefferson County Judge Joseph Bruzzese Jr. was shot Monday morning near the county courthouse in Steubenville, along the Ohio River roughly 30 miles west of Pittsburgh.

Steubenville City Manager James Mavromatis tells WTOV-TV that Bruzzese was talking after being wounded. He was flown to a Pittsburgh-area hospital.

Investigators didn't immediately release further information about the judge's condition or the suspect.

The suspect's body could be seen lying next to a car of a neighboring bank drive-thru. Police say a man who was in a car with the suspected shooter was taken into custody.

[lightman]

. In a bizarre twist, the shooter was identified by authorities on Monday afternoon as Nathaniel Richmond, father of one of the two teenage boys found delinquent - or guilty - in 2013 as part of that rape case.

Jane Hanlin, prosecutor for Jefferson County, identified Richmond as the shooter and said authorities do not believe there was any connection whatsoever between the shooting and Richmond’s son, Ma’lik.

Bruzzese had “nothing at all to do with that particular case,” Hanlin said during an afternoon briefing, noting that it was handled by a judge from another area.

However, Hanlin said authorities still did not know what might have motivated Monday’s shooting. She said Nathaniel Richmond did have a criminal history and was involved in a pending case, but it was unclear if that case had anything to do with the shooting.

During additional remarks to reporters Monday afternoon, Abdalla described Bruzzese as an avid hunter and sportsman. The sheriff said that years earlier, he had urged Bruzzese to carry a weapon with him for protection due to all of the “nutcases” around the country.

“With all the nuts running around, I encouraged him to get a weapon,” Abdalla said. “And he did.”